Stand Up And Be Counted

A STANDING START SHOULD MEAN JUST THAT, SAYS DR SEAN CAREY. HERE HE OUTLINES HOW YOUR POSTURE MATTERS AT THE START OF ANY DISTANCE RACE

- Dr Sean Carey

FOR YEARS the term “standing start” struck me as an odd term to use to describe what happens at the beginning of races of 800m upwards because in the “set” position at the starting line nearly everyone crouches with one foot placed around 18 inches behind the other and shoulder-width apart before taking a step forward into running.

I now realise that actually it’s a useful term, because the concept of a standing start can help an athlete better understand the importance of standing fully upright before any other movement takes place.

Stand up and listen

My observations reveal that relatively few athletes seem to appreciate how important uprightness is at the beginning of a race. Most focus, understandably, on remaining “relaxed” by maintaining their warm-up, perhaps by moving from one foot to the other or flicking the feet out in front of them or slapping their upper thighs with their hands. Then, after the starter exclaims “on your marks”, too many anticipate the crouching involved in the set position by stiffening, specifically by pushing their neck forward, pulling their head down on to their shoulders and rounding their upper back, as they move forward to the starting line.

Then, having arrived at the starting line, instead of rotating smoothly from their hip joints and bending their knees and ankles to crouch many add to the unnecessary tension they’ve already generated by bending not from the hip joints but from their lower back resulting in rounding and thus weakening their whole back.

This is often accompanied by an athlete pitching too far forward, which only serves to create additional muscle strain, especially in the front leg and pelvis.

Reach upwards